TERRAFORMING TERRA
We discuss and comment on the role agriculture will play in the containment of the CO2 problem and address protocols for terraforming the planet Earth.
A model farm template is imagined as the central methodology. A broad range of timely science news and other topics of interest are commented on.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Mushy Peas? No. Peas Are Now a Superfood!

This is a measure of our times. As the public wakes up to the bad choices in their diet, they are paying attention to those other foods long taken for granted and ignored.

Pea protein allows a lot of variation and processing opportunities for industrial food producers and they need just that. It appears we are on the way to serious growth. Just blending with wheat flours will be helpful.

We will also see surprises. Hummus is made from chick peas and sesame seeds. Simple enough to wonder what else we have missed.

Legumes are a curious food. Some say they are
a superfood. They are indeed the only food that gets prominent double
billing in the USDA’s new dietary guidelines, which sets out rationale for the optimal American diet.

Legumes include most beans, peas, and lentils, and these
are categorized both as a recommended vegetable, and a protein source,
alongside meat and poultry, nuts, seeds, and soy.

Pulses (as legumes are known by most of the world, but there are
differences as you’ll read below) are excellent sources of protein, the
USDA states, because they provide nutrients iron and zinc, which are
found in seafood, meats, and poultry. At the same time, they are part
of the vegetable category because “they are excellent sources of dietary
fiber and of nutrients, such as potassium and folate, that also are
found in other vegetables.”

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The duplication explains a lot about the latest vegetable protein
craze in America, which stars the yellow pea, but there is still plenty
more to trumpet about this food group.

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But first, let’s clarify some of the finer points of the legume.

Legumes are some of the oldest cultivated plants on earth,
and they produce seemingly endless varieties of edible dry beans,
lentils, and peas. These legumes are known by most of the world as
pulses.

Pulses helped the Roman empire expand, because the army
carried the nonperishable, nutrient-rich foods in their bags as they
marched. They didn’t have to hunt or worry about spoiled food. All they
needed was fire to cook up a nutritious rice and lentil stew.

Legumes are also popular cover crops, like alfalfa and
clover, used by farmers to improve their soils, as well as soybeans and
peanuts—but none of these are pulses—and pulses are really what the USDA
is referring to when they say “legumes.”

Americans’ consumption of whole pulses, such as in bean soups, lentil stews, and hummus, has not been that impressive.

Another notable exception is green beans and fresh or
frozen green peas, which are also legumes, but not pulses. These
are simply vegetables.

Only pulses get double billing, so let’s be clear. When it says legumes, the USDA means pulses.

The government’s Choose My Plate website explains that pulses are unique
foods that many people consider as vegetarian alternatives for meat. It
goes on to recommend that everyone eat one-and-a-half cups of
pulses per week, because of the food’s high nutrient content.

However, if you look back, Americans’ consumption of whole pulses,
such as in bean soups, lentil stews, and hummus, has not been that
impressive. Pulses are not that popular, largely because they take a
long time to cook, and because, well, America is a big meat culture.

USDA research from 2007–2010 shows
Americans across the board were 70 to 95 percent below their
recommended daily intake of pulses. Incidentally, it’s young children
who eat their mushy peas the most.

Future surveys will look different though, because it’s no
longer necessary to cook our peas in order to consume them. We can
reach for a granola bar, or another processed food instead.

Because pulses are so nutritious (remember, they are
also vegetables), protein powders made from whole peas have been used
for years in the manufacture of high-performance protein shakes.

The application was limited, though, because the taste and aroma of
ground pulses was long considered too strong for most
applications. Proteins are notoriously off-putting in their isolated
form.

Recent advances in flavor modulation have changed that, and
the powders are now considered palatable for broader application.
R&D labs at food companies across the country are now working at a
frenzied pace to unleash the potential of pulses in powdered form.

Already, pulse protein ingredients are starting to appear in grocery
stores across the spectrum of food products that we enjoy on a daily
basis: bean tortilla chips, lentil crackers, gluten-free pasta, baked
goods, and so on.

A Star is Born

While there are many pulse-based proteins on the market, such as
flours, fibers, and starches, which all contain quality vegetable
proteins, the star of the show is the yellow pea protein, and it’s been a
hot item for just a couple of years.

While global production of whole yellow peas has grown (and is
predicted to grow) at a steady rate of 2 to 4 percent annually, revenues
from pea protein are expected to grow around 10 percent annually,
according to 2015 research by Frost & Sullivan.

Attribute it to America’s latest love affair with protein. We’ve
sworn off fats, sugars, and carbohydrates as the demons of weight gain,
and protein’s what’s left.

But it’s also our increasing desire for healthy alternatives to meat.
People are concerned about the fat and artificial hormones contained in
most meat and poultry, so vegetable protein has become more appealing.

An explosion of food creativity has helped to make pulses a little more appetizing.

The World Health Organization (WHO) probably scared us
too, when it pronounced it had found “convincing evidence” that
processed meat causes colorectal cancer, and classified it in the same
risk category as tobacco smoking. It also cautioned against red meat,
but said more research was needed.

So sustainability-minded chefs and manufacturers are beginning to
incorporate more vegetables and meat alternatives into their menus and
products. An explosion of food creativity has helped to make pulses a
little more appetizing.

Vincent James, who founded Mediterranean Snacks in 2007, says his
business was one of the first to market snack food alternatives, such as
veggie sticks.

But sales took off significantly, he said, only after the company
began to focus on plant-based protein. “The consumer if finally starting
to recognize that you can get protein from sources other than meat.”

Today, you can buy Mediterranean Snacks-branded
hummus crackers, baked lentil chips, and a new product called Bean
Stalks, which are tricolor pulse tubes: white for cannellini beans, red
for pinto beans, and green for green pea.

Mediterranean is one of scores of snack food startups zeroing in on
beans and peas, such as snack companies Beanitos, Simply7, and The Daily
Crave.

Bill Gates-backed Beyond Meat is
a vegetable meat startup. It has earned endorsements from Food Network
star Alton Brown, and former New York Times columnist Mark Bittman. The
Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based company markets itself as the “future of
protein.” Their Beast Burgers, Beyond Beef Crumble, and Beyond Beef
Meatballs are all made with pea protein.

Another is Hampton Creek, which manufactures Just Mayo using pea protein. The Silicon Valley company has been named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, and one of 49 of the most innovative companies in the world.

Its not just startups who are invested in this. Big food may move a
little slower, but their R&D pipelines are churning furiously, and
most major manufacturers have at least a bean-based tortilla chip on the
market.

A couple of years ago, the enthusiasm of U.S.-based General Mills for
pea protein caused a temporary market shortage. Matthew Boyle, writing
for Bloomberg,
learned that the company had bought up large amounts of the powder to
support its R&D strategy for products like the Larabar, leaving its
competitors scrambling to source some.

Henk Hoogenkamp, an industry consultant with deep expertise in
vegetable protein, explains that soy protein had a fall from grace
around 2010, and General Mills, along with rivals ConAgra and ADM, were
forced to quickly find a replacement.

Soy has long been the dominant vegetable protein choice, and still
is, mainly due to its popularity as an additive to meat products. About
70 percent of the 1.1 million metric tonnes of soy protein produced in
the world is added to meat.

But pea protein is growing fast. The estimated global size of the pea
protein market in 2016 is 120,000 metric tonnes, triple what it was
four years ago, according to Hoogenkamp.

Clean Food

Pea protein has a lot of advantages over soy. For one, it is
non-genetically modified (GMO). Soybeans, on the other hand, are 94
percent GMO in America, which is a major producer.

Soy protein extraction also requires harsh chemicals like hexane and
hydrochloric acid, which does not bode well for conscious consumers. By
contrast, proteins made from pulses are extracted with water.

Especially for the millennial generation (born 1981–1996), who are
largely the target market for manufacturers of vegetable
protein—consumer behavior shows that they want their food natural, and
non-GMO.

Pea protein
products are largely sold to affluent consumers in North America and
Europe who have a choice, and will choose the natural option if they
can.

Pulses are perfect for marketing to health-oriented consumers, in
that they are naturally low-allergen, and high in fiber, antioxidants,
vitamins, potassium, iron, and folate.

Hoogenkamp points out that pea protein products are largely sold to
affluent consumers in North America and Europe who have a choice, and
will choose the natural option if they can.

The “virtues” of the pulse go on, in that farmers can actually
improve their soils by growing it, meaning its a sustainable option.

Most pulses thrive without irrigation and are usually planted in
rotation with other crops, such as wheat and barley, since
most pulses fix nitrogen into the soil, reducing the need for artificial
fertilization of the farmers’ next crops.

A Bright Future

The pea’s success has earned it investors. Hoogenkamp says we’re now
experiencing a global pea protein glut, driving the price of pea protein
down

After the shortage in 2014, a number of large production facilities
were added to supply increasing demand in North America, Europe, and
China.

Belgium-based Consucra doubled its production line, and France-based Roquette established its yellow pea product Nutralys.

There are also two large manufacturers in China, one in Canada, and
one in the United States, according to Hoogenkamp. Oskaloosa, Iowa-based
World Food Processing, launched its PURISPea product in May of last year.

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Apr 2017 - 4.1 Mil Pg Views, March 2013 - Posted my paper introducing CLOUD COSMOLOGY & NEUTRAL NEUTRINO rigorously described as the SPACE TIME PENDULUM, September 2010 I am pleased to report that my essay titled A NEW METRIC WITH APPLICATIONS TO PHYSICS AND SOLVING CERTAIN HIGHER ORDERED DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS' has been published in Physics Essays(AIP) and appeared in their June 2010 quarterly. 40 years ago I took an honors degree in applied mathematics from the University of Waterloo. My interest was Relativity and my last year there saw me complete a 900 level course under Hanno Rund on his work in relativity,as well as differential geometry(pure math) and of course analysis. I continued researching new ideas and knowledge since that time and I have prepared a book for publication titled Paradigms Shift&. I maintain my blog as a day book and research tool to retain data and record impressions and interpretations on material read. Do join my blog and receive Four items of interest daily Monday through Saturday.